Swoopes played professional basketball in Italy during the offseason. She was excused from the first week of practice to take care of personal business, Chancellor said.

Swoopes was pleased with her first day's work.

"I definitely know I looked better than I feel," she said. "But for me, it's a whole pride thing. I would never come out here and allow people to look at me and say, 'Oh, my gosh, you can definitely tell she's been away.' "

william.stickney@chron.com

COMETS SUMMARY

No Chubby tonight

Mistie Williams, who along with Liz Shimek was obtained by the Comets in a two-for-one trade with the Phoenix Mercury on draft day, had been expecting tonight to be a family reunion.

She had said earlier her father — singer Chubby Checker, who went to No. 1 twice with The Twist in the 1960s — would be at Toyota Center when the Comets opened the preseason against the Charlotte Sting.

Williams said Tuesday that business engagements forced her dad to cancel the trip, but that he will be on hand when the Comets open the regular season on May 21.

Williams will have a reunion of another sort tonight. The Sting took her former Duke teammate, Monique Currie, with the third overall pick of the WNBA draft on April 25.

Not retiring type

Dawn Staley, who has announced this WNBA season will be her last as a player, has more than enough to keep her busy during retirement.

Staley is the Temple women's basketball coach and also one of the assistants on the USA Basketball world championship squad. Staley, whose 36th birthday is Thursday, said there's no chance she'd ever become a coach in the WNBA.

"My passion's with younger people," she said. "I think I can best protect the WNBA by giving them players who I think can uphold the league, kind of take the league to another level, embracing basketball and what it can do for you."

Staley will play tonight against the team, Charlotte, that she spent her first 6 1/2 years with in the WNBA.